The Clockwork Alchemist
by Calfuray
Summary: A new DigiDestined has appeared, bringing to light a revolutionary idea that could set into motion the bloodiest war ever witnessed between two worlds.
1. The Disappearing Bridge

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter One: The Disappearing Bridge**

**BOOK ONE**

**Hello, and welcome to my first fanfic! Some tidbits of information you ought to know before you embark: this story is set after the second Digimon season, but it occurs before the epilogue. _Clockwork_ chronicles events that take place as everyone in the world receives their own Digimon partner. Enjoy!**

* * *

Wizardmon started and looked up sharply, as if he had been struck by an invisible hand. 

"What's the matter?" Meramon asked, more curious than concerned, but Wizardmon shook his head.

"I'm not sure…" he replied. "I thought I felt something."

His companion's flames danced for a moment, bristling.

"Anything I should be worried about?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Wizardmon replied slowly, but it was obvious his mind was elsewhere. "Stay here; I'll go check it out."

"In that storm?" Meramon asked disbelievingly, gesturing at the rage of snow and ice beyond the cave's mouth. The blizzard had seethed for days now, and while there were signs of stopping, it was a still a dangerous and foolhardy thing to brave it now.

"I'll be alright."

"Suit yourself…"

Wizardmon tipped his old pointed hat in farewell as Meramon settled himself against a wall. Then he set out into the storm, following the faint prod at his mind and wondering what in Magic's name was summoning him.

.xXx.

At the exact moment Wizardmon had felt something tug at his magic, somewhere else in a world quite unlike his own, a girl had jumped off a bridge. Her name was Rosemerry Elric, and let it be said that she was generally not the sort to do this type of thing. But her life had taken a turn for the worse, and in an instant of insanity she had chosen to end it all.

However, and she was not quite sure how it had happened, but somehow she'd managed to miss hitting the river altogether and instead landed in the middle of a deep forest. A torrent of snow raged in on her from all directions, striking every bit of exposed skin with biting force and blowing straight through her clothes to reach the rest. She lay there for a moment, shivering and winded, staring up at a canopy of white branches and pinecones where she knew there was supposed to be a bridge.

The bell hadn't even stopped tolling midnight when she'd jumped, but she couldn't hear it now. Actually, she doubted she might hear anything over the howl of the wind, yet whatever had happened seemed to have knocked her sanity back into her, and with a grunt she pushed herself up and started walking. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was freezing. But it was soon apparent that if she didn't find shelter soon, she wouldn't have much choice in the matter. Every tree, every snow drift, even every snowflake looked the same to the point where she suspected she was going in circles.

"Hello?" she called into the storm, a fruitless effort as the wind immediately hurled her words back down her throat. "Is anyone there? Someone! Help me!"

It was then her foot caught a branch and sent her tumbling head over heels into a tree, which promptly dropped what seemed like a few tons of snow straight on her head. Everything went dark, and the howling that had filled the air was suddenly muffled.

_I guess freezing to death wouldn't be so bad, _she mused in the relative quietude. _You just go to sleep, and that's that. Come to think of it, I don't even feel the old anymore…_

So Rosemerry closed her eyes and began to sink into an empty unconsciousness, just as she and everything else around her was abruptly lifted into the air.

.xXx.

"Hey, hold up a minute!"

Wizardmon turned and smiled beneath his cloak as Meramon hurried to catch up with him. "I thought you weren't coming?"

"Yeah, well, I couldn't let you go off and have all the fun, could I?" the fire-man replied. "Besides, what's a blizzard between friends? S'not like it's affecting me. What are we looking for anyway?"

"I don't know, exactly," Wizardmon answered truthfully. "But I suppose we'll find out soon. It's in this direction."

"Lead on, then."

The two Nightmare Soldiers walked for a few minutes in companionable silence, Wizardmon maintaining a small force-field to keep the snow at bay and staying close to Meramon so as to keep warm. It was not that he particularly disliked the cold, but there was no reason not to use his friend as a personal heater.

"How much farther is it?" Meramon wanted to know.

"Just a little more…Who's that?"

They paused, peering into the raging gloom at the dark figure making its way towards them through the trees.

"A ghost?" asked Meramon, a quaver on his voice, though he quelled it sternly.

"No, it's too solid to be a specter," Wizardmon replied. "Believe me, I would know. It's shouting something. Can you make it out?"

The flaming Digimon shook his head. Then the creature staggered and fell straight into the base of a tree, which proceeded let loose its loaded branches and buried the thing beneath the snowfall.

"Come on!" the Majin cried, starting forward at an ungainly run through the deep white before levitating himself the rest of the way, Meramon sloughing after him. Then the snowdrift rose straight into the air and gently shook itself, and he was surprised to see a girl floating there before him.

"A human!" he said.

"Indeed," Wizardmon agreed. "She must be a new DigiDestined, if she's here."

"What's she doing all the way out here?"

But the wizard only shook his head and pulled the girl within his sphere of protection.

"Hold out your arms, Meramon."

"Like this?" Meramon said, doing as he was told, and Wizardmon nodded, levitating the child across his forearms.

"Keep her warm, but try not to touch her. We don't want to set her on fire," Wizardmon warned, and began to trek back towards the cave, Meramon following at his heels.

.xXx.

"What'cha got there?" a curious Pumpkinmon asked as Wizardmon and Meramon returned with their charge in hand.

"Hey, it's a girl!" several Gekomon observed brightly.

"What a doll," Frigimon grinned. "But what's she doing here? She's not one of the DigiDestined we met."

"That's what I'd like to know," Wizardmon admitted, setting her down by the fire as several others gathered in curiosity, and cast a drying-spell upon her drenched clothes.

"If she is, where's her partner?" asked Apemon.

"Don't know," said Meramon. "She was alone when we found her. Maybe they were separated, or she doesn't have one yet."

"How'd you find her?" asked a Gazimon, his brothers crowding behind him to get a better look.

"Wizardmon said he could sense her," Meramon told them.

"That's a Witchelny D'mon for you."

"Well, the only thing to do now is to wait for her to wake up," said Wizardmon. "Then maybe she can answer a few of those questions."

"You mean _if_ she wakes up," the Gazimon added cheekily, earning a swipe from the Majin's staff. They scampered away laughing as Wizardmon settled himself down to wait. It was not long before the others lost interest in the novelty and had wandered off, leaving him and Meramon alone with their unconscious charge.

"Why do you think she's here?" asked Meramon, stroking the fire. "I mean, it's only been a few months since the DigiDestined were last here, and there haven't been any new threats to our world. There hasn't been enough time, really. So what's this kid doing here?"

"Why do you keep asking me?" Wizardmon sighed. "I don't know all the answers."

"You sure act like you do," Meramon grinned.

"I will admit it's strange," Wizardmon said, choosing to ignore the jibe. "Perhaps a new threat is about to surface, one we aren't aware of yet. After all, overly-powerful evil D'mons seem to be cropping up quite a lot recently."

"Yeah, but they usually let things quiet down for a few years before showing their faces."

"Well, maybe this one's just impatient. Taking over the world's a hard job; it's better to get started right away."

They laughed quietly to each other and eventually lapsed into silence. Ten minutes time found Meramon asleep and snoring softly, but his Witchelny friend had yet to find his rest. Wizardmon leaned against the wall, fingers linked across his chest, regarding the child with eyes like emeralds. Frigimon was right; she certainly looked like a doll. She had to be at least fifteen, and would always be more cute than beautiful—as humans went at any rate—with short wavy red hair, fair complexion, and petite build.

To say the least, she didn't look like much. He doubted a soft little thing like her would last long in the Digital World on her own. Yet, something about her made him uneasy. For what reason he hadn't the faintest idea, but it was there just the same, buzzing anxiously within his mind.

Still…if she was here, perhaps the other DigiDestined would return as well. Despite himself, Wizardmon smiled. He might be able the see Gatomon again. Though he would have trouble explaining how he'd managed to return to the digital world after being trapped in the real one as a ghost for so long. He didn't remember much of it, actually, only that one day he'd been pulled rather forcefully through the Gate and landed hard just outside Primary Village.

Wizardmon shook his head and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep as a shadow slipped from the cave and disappeared into the night.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing.**

Vocabulary:

**Majin** are a group of magically inclined Digimon hailing from **Witchelny**, which is a separate part of the Digital World. Other Majin include Sorcerymon, Flawizarmon (FlameWizardmon), and Witchmon.

The **Nightmare Soldiers** represent one of the Digimon Families within the southern section of the Digital World. Digimon of this family primarily consist of demon, Undead, and other mythological and mystical Digimon.

**D'mon** is the abbreviation of _Digimon_ (think of it as Digital slang) that I just made up so I wouldn't have to say "mon". Frankly, I hate that word.

Salutations! I hope you liked the first chapter of _Clockwork. _I do apologize if it's a little confusing at first—I like to start stuff like this off right in the middle of things and explain it all later. I think it's way more interesting that way, don't you? Anyway, Wizardmon's my favorite character out of the lot, so I decided to give homage by writing a fic about him. He rules. And as to why he's reappeared in the digital world, all will be explained in due time.

Anyway, yes, I posted this some time ago but decided to take it down and do a rewrite. I think it's better this time. Triumph!

REVIEW!

Until next time,

Calfuray


	2. Prophecies

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter Two: Prophecies**

* * *

_Pissed off_ was not usually a term used to describe Tentomon. He rather preferred _perturbed_ or even _vexed_, but in truth those particular expressions were sadly lacking in describing his present fury. After all, the wish to hurl a few bolts of electricity into his human partner was not an act committed merely out of annoyance. On the other hand, Izzy _had_ just woken him up at four in the morning. 

"Tento, c'mere and look at this!" Izzy Izumi called excitedly from his computer. He was already typing noisily away, oblivious to the black look his Digimon threw at him from under the bedcovers.

"Do you know what time it is?" Tentomon demanded, not bothering to mask the irritation in his voice. Izzy ignored the question, and waved him over frantically.

"It's a message from Gennai," the boy said. "The Gate's open again, and he wants us to come to the Digital World right away."

"What, _now_?" Tentomon cried. "At four in the morning?"

"Whoa…It's that late already?"

"Izzy! You said you'd only be on another hour! Haven't you slept at _all_?"

"Well, I meant to…but it's a good thing I didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have heard the news until later today."

"Oh, what a tragedy," the insect huffed, and rolled over. "Please put your computer up and go to sleep. Whatever Gennai has to say can wait until a more decent hour, right?"

"…I guess so," Izzy replied reluctantly, slowly shut his laptop, and climbed into bed. "G'night, Tento," he yawned, and was answered with a decidedly buggy snore.

.xXx.

"Okay, Izzy, what's this all about?" Tai Kamiya asked around a mouthful of omelet as he seated himself on Izzy's floor near his partner Agumon, who was currently nose-deep in a bag of potato chips.

"Yeah, what's up?" Davis Motomiya put in. Little DemiVeemon was perched on his shoulder, and eyeing the _Ruffles_ with interest.

"I've called you all here because I received a message from Gennai last night," Izzy replied. "It seems the Digital port has reopened."

"_What?_" cried Sora Takenouchi as Tai took that moment to choke on his breakfast. Agumon patted his back sympathetically.

"But that's crazy!" T.K. Takaishi objected. "We've only just returned from defeating MaloMyotismon a few months ago! Don't tell me the Digital World's in peril _again_. Not this soon at any rate."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Cody Hida deadpanned.

"I really can't say what's going on, to tell you the truth," Izzy said apologetically. "Gennai's message isn't clear on the details, he just said for us to come as soon as possible."

"Well, I'm game," Davis shrugged. "It's been a little boring around here after all that excitement in the Digital World."

"You said it," DemiVeemon agreed.

"We might as well see what the old man wants," Matt Ishida said from his seat on Izzy's bed. Ken Ichijouji nodded silently next to him, Wormmon lazing languidly in his lap. Apparently, it was a little too early for the both of them.

"Matt, I don't think it's very polite to call him that," Gabumon chided gently.

"Well, of course I wouldn't say it to his face," he replied with a careless shrug, and his partner sighed in exasperation, shooting him a glance that clearly stated: "That's not the point, and you know it. He may be old, but I believe it's rude to refer to him as thus, to his face or otherwise. Really, I doubt you'd know the meaning of the word 'tact' it if walked up and slapped you in the face with a mackerel."

It was a very expressive glance.

Unfortunately, the effort was wasted as Matt had already turned away. Gatomon, having seen everything, chuckled at the miffed look that scampered over Gabumon's muzzle while Gomamon wondered what was so funny. He didn't like missing out on a joke.

Joe Kido fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "What if this is a trap? Some evil Digimon out for our blood—yet again—could have sent that to lure us into his clutches…or something like that."

"You've been watching too many scary movies, Joe," Gomamon said. "You're getting paranoid, buddy."

"I am _not_ paranoid. I'm _prepared_," Joe defended. "We have to review all the options, after all, and be ready if it is some sort of trap."

"Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about that," said Izzy. "This email's definitely the genuine article: it's password protected, see? Besides, I doubt someone like MaloMyotismon would have the fortitude to put the word 'num-nums' in a letter."

"There's num-nums?" DemiVeemon asked, immediately at attention. "That means snacks, right? What are we standing around here for? Let's go, let's go!"

"Yeah, I think we should check it out," said Kari Kamiya. "If it's from Gennai, then you can bet it' something important. Besides, it's Sunday."

"Which means we've got nothing better to do," added Yolei Inoue. "Let's go see what the fuss is about this time."

"Yes, just as long as I can get out in the open again," chirped Poromon from her lap.

Izzy cast an eye over his rather crowded companions, and had to nod in agreement. His small bedroom really wasn't up to holding eleven kids and their Digimon. Even with the younger ones in their baby forms they were pushing it.

"Alright then, DigiPort open."

And the world disappeared.

.xXx.

Ken landed with a bounce on something soft, after which something equally hard landed on his head. This effectively bowled him over and he somehow ended up sprawled across Yolei's lap.

"Sorry…!" he gasped upon realizing his position and jumped up as if he'd been burned, jolting Wormmon from his back who in turn rolled headfirst into Agumon's stomach.

"S'okay…" Yolei replied dazedly, blushing almost as badly as he was, and climbed unsteadily to her feet. "Where are we?"

"It looks like Gennai's place," Matt observed, looking around curiously.

"But wasn't that at the bottom of a lake?" asked Gomamon.

"Look up!" said Patamon, pointing. The others turning their eyes skyward and low and behold a wall of water greeted their gazes, towering over them and scintillating in the sun.

"Whoa…" Hawkmon breathed.

"That about says it," Yolei muttered.

"I guess Gennai parted the waters before we got here," T.K. said.

"Who does he think he is, Moses?" Davis muttered in typical Davis fashion.

"Are you going to come in or just stand there talking all day?" called a voice and they turned to find a very wizened Gennai peering down at them from his porch. "Come on you'd better hurry. I can't keep these waters at bay for much longer."

"_That's _Gennai?" cried Yolei. "But he's so _old_!"

"Hmph! You don't have to be so rude about it," Gennai huffed crossly.

"I'm sorry…but-but you were so young the last time I saw you…" she stammered, trying to back track at the black look he was giving her.

"Well, yes, my appearance does change depending on the world I'm in, but let's discuss that later. I have something you need to see. Come inside."

With that he turned on his heel and walked into the foyer, the children not far behind.

"Where's the food?" Veemon asked, and Gennai opened a door, revealing a kotatsu laden with a variety of snacks and drinks. However, that wasn't all. Seated neatly on the floor, chatting with a very familiar plant-like Digimon was none other than Mimi Tachikawa.

"Hey there!" greeted Palmon, waving them over. "We've been waiting for you."

"I take it you got my email, then?" asked Izzy.

"Of course," Mimi smiled, and gestured towards the foodstuff.

"Well, help yourselves, there's plenty to go around," she said. The Digimon were quick to take her upon her word, their partners not far in following suit, and once everyone had settled down Gennai cleared his throat.

"I've found something disturbing," he said, pulling a sheath of parchment from within his robes. "A prophecy has surfaced, and I'm afraid I can't make heads or tails of it. One thing it makes clear, though, is that both our worlds are in danger."

"Well, that's not something out of the ordinary, right?" said Tai. "Seems to me either one or the other is always in some kind of trouble."

"Yeah, so who's the bad guy and how do we kill it?" asked Matt, cutting straight to the point.

"Unfortunately, children, I don't think the threat is from any one Digimon," Gennai replied gravely. "This prophecy, it speaks of awful things. Of death and blood…kids this is something bigger than the Dark Lords or the Spires or anything you've ever faced. I fear…there is a war coming, and it will pit both these worlds against each other."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Matt cried into a mounting silence. "What are you saying? That Digimon and humans are…are going to fight each other? K-kill each other?"

"In vast numbers, if this isn't stopped."

No one could think of a thing to say to this. They stared numbly, the unreality of the word "war" ringing in their heads. It was something that happened somewhere else, someplace far away. It didn't affect the here and now. It had nothing to do with them. Yet, here it was, rearing its ugly head in the awful distance. Awful, for it seemed like no distance at all.

"I would never fight against Kari," said Gatomon with firm conviction, her paw slipping into her girl's hand. Kari smiled and squeezed gently.

"Me neither," said Agumon, with a glance at Tai. "Tai and the others, they're our friends. We would never turn against them."

The other Digimon nodded in strong agreement, subconsciously moving closer to their companions.

"Let's hear this prophecy," said Cody, his customarily somber voice ringing a touch heavier.

"Yeah, what's it say?" asked Armadillomon. "I think we'd all like to know."

Gennai nodded and shook the paper out, upsetting a stream of dust in the sun and sending the golden motes swirling in every direction. Then he began to read in a steady, grim voice and it seemed as if all the world hushed to listen.

"_Before the night can turn_

_Before the clock strikes the hour_

_The paradigm shall churn_

_And to war embarks the flower_

_Magic is abreast_

_As realities collide_

_Dissension upon the crest_

_And blood upon the tide_

_May the Masters fall_

_Upon the teeth of friends_

_As all the monsters call_

_For bigotry to end_

_Oh Father of the Sword_

_Oh Mother of the Soul_

_Strike the hateful chord_

_And the bell of death will toll_

_The right side holds the key_

_To win this gory game_

_And to one of Alchemy_

_All begins with a name."_

Gennai stopped and looked around at his wide-eyed audience. "Well, that's it," he said. "I think it's obvious the general meaning but the rest…it's as jumbled as a Raremon. A hopeless mess, if you ask me."

"It's certainly cryptic, that's for sure," Tentomon said.

"Well, hold on, let's take this one step at a time," Ken interjected. "It sounds like a riddle to me—"

"Or a _poem_," muttered Davis.

"And every riddle has a solution, if you know where to look," Ken went on, ignoring him. "Take the first line, 'Before the night can turn'. Any ideas on what that means?"

"How can the night turn?" Gabumon wanted to know.

"Maybe it means knight, with a K," said Sora.

"Hey, yeah!" said T.K. "But which knight?"

"Maybe it's a Digital knight, like Knightmon or something," Patamon said.

"But what would he turn into?" Mimi asked.

"Well, Crusadermon, naturally," answered Hawkmon. "Oh! Oh, wait a minute, I don't think it's talking about a knight at all. What does night time turn into?"

"Uh, day time?" Davis ventured.

"Right, but more specifically…"

"Morning!" cried Kari. "So the next line, 'Before the clock strikes the hour', could that mean one minute to midnight? When it switches from PM to AM?"

"Hey, you might be on to something there," Joe grinned. "But the next part, 'The Paradigm shall churn'…What's a paradigm, anyway? Anyone know?"

"Izzy, why don't you look it up on your computer?" Tentomon suggested at the others' looks of mystification.

"Already on it, Tento," Izzy replied, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Alright, paradigm: a set of forms all of which contain a particular element, especially the set of all inflected forms based on a single stem or theme."

"Meaning…?" Davis prompted.

"Basically, it means a group of things all connected through a particular object or idea. It's a pattern of some sort that ties individuals together through a common bond. Think of it like the branches of a tree. Each one is its own entity, but it's connected to all the others through the trunk," Izzy explained. "It could also mean an archetype, or a standard model. There's a lot of information here."

"Well, let's come back to that one," Tai said. "What about the next line?"

"I don't see how a flower from our world could do any harm," said Cody. "Could it mean a Digimon? Like Lillymon?"

"Are you saying I'd start a war?" Palmon demanded, her petals bristling.

"No, no!" Cody said, holding out his hands and shaking his head. "It was just a thought!"

"Even so, that's not out of the question," Izzy cut in. "Certainly Lillymon wouldn't commit something like that, but another flora-type Digimon might. Let's keep that in mind. I think the second stanza is pretty clear as to meaning."

"'As realities collide' is talking about the Digital World and the Real World," Gatomon said. "You could say it happens all the time when a Gate opens."

"But 'collide' refers to something more violent, I think," said Hawkmon.

"What about the third line? Could the crest mentioned be referring to our Crests?" asked Ken. "Like my Crest of Kindness, or the Crest of Sincerity?"

"So…the Crest of Dissension?" Wormmon said, and the children fell quiet.

"That means…another DigiDestined," whispered Sora. "Then someone from _our_ world could just as easily set this whole thing off."

"But…he'd have to be a kid, right?" Davis pointed out. "I can't believe a kid like us would do something terrible like that. How could just one kid start a war anyway?"

"He does have a point," T.K agreed. "Even if he wanted to, it'd be pretty tough to turn two worlds against each other when they barely come in contact at all. On that note, only the DigiDestined are able to go through the Gates, and I know none of the others would ever do anything like that."

"Maybe a new DigiDestined, then?" opined Agumon. "Someone bad, I think, by the sound of that Crest. I don't know what it means exactly, but it's not good that's for sure."

"It means discord, conflict," offered Ken. "It certainly doesn't sound like the usual, does it? I mean, a bad Crest—who ever gets that would have to be pretty nasty."

"I say enough talk," said Tai suddenly. "We've got a good clue to go on now. Let's find this Crest of Dissension and stop this before it gets out of hand."

"Yeah, I'm with Tai," said Davis. "Let's go."

"But what if we have to fight this new DigiDestined?" asked Cody.

"We'll think about that when we come to it," Tai replied. "Right now, I think we should concentrate on _finding_ him and the Crest first."

"But if we have to fight him, you can bet we'll be the ones who come out on top," Yolei grinned. "After all—"

"It's not like you haven't fought one before," finished Ken with a crooked little smile.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the characters therein. Unfortunately.**

Vocabulary:

A **kotatsu** is a low, open wooden frame covered by a blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself.

Hello again, and thanks for reading the second chapter of _Clockwork_! I think this one was a little slow, but hey, it was plot development. I happen to love reviews, so any words of encouragement and/or adoration would be much appreciated. Also, in reference to any unfamiliar Digimon, such as Raremon for example, I would suggest Wikipedia. I've found it to be extremely useful in regards to Digimon research. It even provides pictures, which is a huge bonus. I didn't take the time to describe them in this chapter, but then again, I didn't think it necessary. If you don't recognize someone then what are you doing reading Digimon fanfics? But in later chapters you can expect a few descriptions or two.

EDIT: Someone's brought to my attention that T.K.'s got his villains mixed up. He mentions defeating the Dark Masters, but he really meant MaloMyotismon. That's totally understandable, a mistake anyone could make. Besides, they're all evil anyway, so who cares? I mean, there's at least a 100 episodes, and fifty different bad guys all wanting to rule the world, or plunge it into total darkness, or destroy it or some such other nonsense. Seriously, how is he supposed to keep up with them all? It's impossible, so let's all fogive him.

Until I want to write again,

Calfuray


	3. Magic and Alchemy

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter Three: Magic and Alchemy**

* * *

"My Lord?" Mojyamon, a rather large Digimon resembling a yeti, called out into the gloom. "My Lord, are you there?" 

Something shifted in the dark, something awful and vast, and a bright pair of eyes gleamed at him from the shadows. Mojyamon trembled, and curled in on himself in an attempt to appear smaller.

"**What is it?**" a voice grated, eddies of power swirling through every syllable. The very breath of this monstrous creature was almost enough to push the snowman back. For what it was worth, Mojyamon managed to stay his ground.

"I h-have news, Exalted One," he stammered. "A girl has appeared, but she isn't one of the others. She is a new DigiDestined."

"**I see. She may pose a problem…**"

"I'm…not sure she's the one you seek, Lord," Mojyamon said timidly.

"**Does she bear the Crest?**"

"No, sir, there wasn't a Crest."

"**Even so, I cannot take chances. If she is the one I seek, then as long as the child lives the Digital World lies in grave danger.**"

"My Lord, if I may speak…" Mojyamon ventured.

"**You may.**"

"This kid…I don't see how she could be such a terrible threat," the yeti admitted. "She's such a little thing, after all."

"**Delphimon's predictions are never wrong,**" the Great Beast replied, the ground shaking as he moved. "**If there is even the slightest chance this child is of the Prophecy, then I must do all I can to prevent such atrocities from occurring…**"

"Atrocities, sir? What…?"

"**Mind your place,**" the creature warned darkly. "**Do not overstep your boundaries, champion.**"

"I apologize, my Lord," Mojyamon said quickly, bowing almost to the floor. "I was too bold; I did not mean to pry…"

"**Where is the child?**"

"At the entrance to the old mining tunnels not too far from here. Of course, to my Lord, nothing is too far away…"

"**Groveling does not become you**," the black thing replied, disdainful. "**You are dismissed.**"

"Thank you, my lord," Mojyamon sighed, and turned to leave.

"**Mojyamon.**"

"Yes, My Lord?"

"**If you value your hide, do not return there.**"

"Yes, My Lord…" the Digimon murmured in reply, dismay in his voice and sorrow in his eyes as he hurried away from the old, black ruins of the arctic. He felt he'd never been happier to be back outside, even in the middle of a howling blizzard.

.xXx.

By morning the storm had passed, the shining serenity in its wake lying as testament that it had been there at all. Those that had taken shelter in the cave were stirring now, stretching stiffened limbs and peering out into a beautifully blanketed world.

Wizardmon awoke and shifted to get a better look at their guest, hiding a yawn beneath his cloak as he checked her vitals.

"How is she?" Meramon asked.

"Stable," he replied. "If she lived through the night I guess that means she's okay. She ought to wake soon."

"When she does she'll want breakfast," Meramon grinned. "They always do. I was just about to go get something to eat myself; I'll pick up a few things for her…and you. You look like you could use the extra energy."

"Thank you my friend," Wizardmon smiled as his fiery companion made his way outside, and settled back to wait for the Digimon's return. Which, as it turned out, wasn't very long.

There was a sudden shout, an agonized cry that was abruptly cut off, as if whatever had made the sound had just had its throat slashed. Then the few early risers that had followed the fire-man out came rushing back in a panic, Meramon hot on their heels.

"GET UP!" he shouted frantically. "Get up! Snimon—a _swarm_ of them! They're _attacking—_"

But the rest of his sentence was cut off as an awful buzzing filled the air and the first insect appeared, a colossal praying mantis armed to the teeth with a pair of twin-scythes jutting from his fore-legs. Wizardmon leapt to his feet as the Snimon slashed at Meramon, and hurled a bolt of energy into the blade, knocking it askew before it pierced the fire-man's head.

"Everybody run!" Wizardmon shouted, his staff glowing as he levitated the girl and moved her further into the cave, Digimon scrambling past him in a frantic rush to escape. Andromon and Beelzemon, however, stood their ground.

"We'll hold them off!" Andromon called over his shoulder. "There's an exit at the other end of the tunnel—escape through there!"

"Meramon!" Wizardmon yelled over the noise. "You know where it is, lead everyone outside!"

"What about you?" Meramon asked, throwing fireballs left and right as the insects surged forward, crawling over their wounded without pause. "Ditch her, and let's get out of here!"

"If I was going to leave her, I wouldn't have picked her up in the first place," Wizardmon replied. "Go on ahead; I'll follow in the rear."

Meramon hesitated, glancing at the Snimon surging menacingly forward, and nodded.

"I'll cover you!" he called over the noise, ducking a swinging blade, and blasted the ceiling over the Snimons' heads, bringing down an avalanche of rock directly on top of the first line. "That should buy us some time. Hurry!"

"Here, give her to me," Andromon said, kneeling next to the wizard and holding out his hands for the girl. "We can go much faster if I carry her."

"Thank you," Wizardmon replied, quickly unloading the child. "Come, we must move quickly. They'll be coming through any moment now."

.xXx.

There were a vast number of tunnels winding through the mountain caves, and one in particular that led straight out to the other side. It was this path they chose to follow, quickly leaving the droning of the Snimon behind. Wizardmon silently matched Andromon stride for stride, glancing every once and while at the child in his arms with anxious unease. If she was here, she was important somehow, and he would do everything in his power to protect her. It was his duty, after all. Yet…in a way it was more than that. He just wished he knew what that was.

"Hey, something's happening up ahead…" Meramon warned them, trying to see through the gloom. The passage was blocked up with Digimon, trying to to see over each other's heads at the commotion blocking the exit.

"What is it?" Wizardmon called. "Is the tunnel blocked…?" But even as he said it a wave of panic swept down the line, and those Digimon in the forefront started shouting and trying to back track into those trying to get out. Wizardmon pushed through the crowd, ducking and weaving through the larger ones until he abruptly burst out into the sunlight. Having been in the dark for so long he was temporarily blinded, and blinked for a moment, trying to reorient himself…

And then he saw them. Hundreds of them—buzzing through the air, their blades glinting in the afternoon sun as they clicked massive pinchers and glared with eyes like multi-faceted mirrors. The swarm had been waiting for them.They were cut off from both sides now, and this time, there would be no escape.

There was a moment where the world seemed to freeze and time slowed down, as if to give the wizard a second for the true horror of their situation to sink in, before everything went to hell. At once the swarm descended upon the first few to reach the exit, cutting them to pieces where they stood or flying up into the air with them and dropping them on their comrades. All around him Digimon were screaming, firing off wild attacks in a desperate frenzy, scattering everywhere.

"DON'T PANIC!" Wizardmon roared, slamming the thought into every mind within reach. "Back to the cave, now! Those that can fight, front and center!"

They wasted no time in obeying, the wizard's voice still ringing in their heads, and scrambled back inside. A dozen champion-strength Digimon stepped forward, throwing everything they had at the Snimon in a furious attempt to drive them back. Andromon set his burden down and joined Wizardmon, firing colossal blasts of energy at one insect after another. But even with all their strength combined it still wasn't enough. If one bug went down, three more immediately came to take its place; and they were slowly gaining ground.

Suddenly, there were cries from within the cave, too, and Wizardmon knew the rest of the swarm had arrived through the tunnels. Digimon came rushing out of the cave, only to be snatched up by the Snimon outside, for there was no place to run. The cave ended at a small cliff, and below that was what was known as Rush Valley, with a narrow path leading down. They were sitting ducks and the Snimon knew it. They pushed in from all fronts, picking off their victims one by one.

Wizardmon fired off spell upon spell, shouting incantations and ancient runes, but the insects were everywhere, and then one came in from the left and caught him in the shoulder. The wizard ducked away, swinging his staff and bleeding badly, but the Snimon smacked him to the ground and his weapon skittered away. And with an awful screech the insect brought his scythe down upon the Nightmare Soldier's head.

_I'm going to die…_

Instinctively, Wizardmon closed his eyes, bringing his arms up in a pathetic attempt to shield himself, and waited for the inevitable. But it never came. There was an earth-shattering noise, the ground bucked, and then something crunched. The wizard opened his eyes, cautiously, and stared in disbelieving shock. A gargantuan hand had reached from earth and snatched the Snimon right out of the air, crushing it instantly.

In a daze, he looked back over his shoulder at the girl crouched at the base of this stone appendage, her hands flat on the ground and a look of borderline panic in her eyes. She wasted no time in jumping to her feet while the swarm (and everyone else) stared at the stone fist in awe, clapping her hands and slapping the cliff wall. Again the rock shifted, and almost instantaneously an immense barrier of stone came arching down over the ledge they were standing on, effectively shielding them. Another clap and the tunnel was suddenly full of dead insects, impaled upon the thick iron rods that had shot from the walls. Anything that wasn't a Snimon had, miraculously, been spared.

For several seconds no one moved. The Digimon stared in flabbergasted, open-mouthed and unadulterated amazement at the girl, while she leaned against the wall with both hands and breathed heavily in extreme shock and terror. Finally, she turned her head to look at Wizardmon, who happened to be the closest, and asked in a very shaky voice, "What the hell is going on?"

"Er…well, that's a little complicated…"

"Where am I? What _are_ you things?" she demanded, now completely freaking out. "Omigod, I'm probably dead! I died and this is hell!"

"You're in the Digital World, miss. We're Digimon, and…" he started to explain, stepping forward, but she shot away from him so fast her back hit the opposite wall before he could blink.

"You stay away from me!" she barked, taking a fighting stance. "I don't know what that is, I don't know what's happening. You come any closer and I'll do to you what I did to them!" She pointed into the cave. "Understand?"

He nodded, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. "It's okay, we don't want to hurt you. In fact, if it had not been for me you _would_ have died in the snow storm."

"What were those bug things?"

"Digimon."

"Like you."

"Bad Digimon."

"How do I know you're not bad?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at the large number of others at the wizard's back.

"Look, we're on the same side, okay?" Silphymon cut in soothingly. "We—"

But she suddenly cut off as a little Tokomon scuttled past her feet and scampered towards the girl before anyone could stop it. Wizardmon held his breath as the kid froze, watching with a mildly surprised look of 'what-the-hell?' as the tiny thing came right up to her, sat down at her feet and stared up at her with a pair of the biggest brown eyes she'd ever seen. And then it hugged her foot. At that point she wasn't quite sure what to do anymore.

"So…you're not evil?" she asked finally, quirking an eyebrow. Wizardmon smiled and shook his head.

"No, not evil at all," he replied. She nodded, trying to gently shake the Tokomon off her foot.

"Alright, then."

"What's your name?"

"Romy," she said and grinned. "Romy Elric, the Clockwork Alchemist."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to somebody else.**

Vocabulary:

** Delphimon** is a Digimon I made up, so I doubt you will find her on the net. Delphi was the Greek god Apollo's oracle, and made cryptic predictions of the future after getting high on some hallucinogenic weeds. Her prophecies always turned out to be right, though.

Hello, and welcome to the third chapter of the Clockwork Alchemist! And yes, this is a strange crossover with Fullmetal Alchemist, if you haven't guessed that already. It's one of my absolute favorite animes, and I got this idea and this is the result. Unfortunately, Edward won't be in this, but that's why this story's not in the FMa section. Also, I need reviews to live, so don't hesitate to press that button!

Calfuray


	4. Not Quite Heroic

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter Four: Not Quite Heroic**

* * *

Gatomon couldn't sleep. Being of cat-stock, this was really unheard of and downright ridiculous. Who ever heard of a cat not being able to cat-nap, after all? But there it was. No matter what she did, she knew she wasn't going to get any winks for a while at least. The problem was her head was too full, and no one can sleep when they can't stop thinking, not even a cat. 

"Can't sleep?" whispered a voice. Gatomon looked around and found a pair of familiar eyes watching her in the dark.

"Go back to sleep, Patamon."

There was a soft flurry of wings, and the little hamster-bunny settled himself down in the grass next to her. "So, what's wrong?" he asked, giving her a friendly nudge with his nose. She sighed, and shook her head. There was no denying Patamon when he was determined to cheer somebody up. He could be stubborn like that. And then there was the fact that he was the only one she felt comfortable in confiding to, becoming the little brother she never had.

"It's this whole prophecy thing," she admitted quietly. "I've thought this thing through frontwards and backwards and I just don't see how a war could possibly start. But then…Delphimon's predictions are always right, aren't they?"

"You're worried."

"…Yeah," the cat muttered grudgingly. "We're gonna try and stop it, but…what if we can't? People could die. _Our _people could die." She cast a glance at Kari and shuddered. "I can't go through that again…Losing Wizardmon was enough."

"They won't die, Gatomon," Patamon said firmly, with a conviction she didn't know he had in him. "We won't let them. We're gonna find whoever's supposed to start it and put an end to 'em. There won't be any war."

"Still…I really wish he was here. He'd know what to do."

"You miss him a lot, huh?" Patamon murmured softly.

"He was the best friend I ever had, 'cept for Kari," she said, staring up at the moon. "It still hurts, but… not as much now. It was so long ago."

Patamon put a wing around her shoulders and gave a little squeeze. "Try to get some sleep, Gato. We've got a long day tomorrow."

She nodded and smiled. "Goodnight…"

"Sweet dreams."

"Patamon?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

.xXx.

"The Clockwork Alchemist?" the wizard repeated in intrigue, but Romy shook her head.

"I can explain that later," she replied. "We should take care of those…what did you call them again?"

"Snimon."

"Right. Let's get rid of them first."

"How? There're hundreds out there!" Mummymon protested, gesturing with his blaster. "There aren't enough of us to take them all out. We're trapped in here."

"Yeah, we do need more fire power..." Romy agreed, making a window and peering outside. "Whoops!"

Suddenly the business end of a Snimon blade had slammed through the opening she'd made, slicing through the exact spot her head had been just before if she hadn't deftly side-stepped at the last second. Without batting an eye she clapped and severed the tip of the blade with a quick down-sweep of her hand. There a scream of outrage outside, but she ignored it, examining the piece of steel before it abruptly turned black and went to dust in her hands.

"…I was looking at that. What happened?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"Our bodies disintegrate when we die," Wizardmon explained. "Including any parts we lose. More importantly, that blade was fake. Those aren't real Snimon out there."

"How do you know?"

"It turned black before it disappeared."

"How did you do that?" Meramon asked. "Cut it off like that?"

"Lucky guess. I assumed that Snimon was composed of the same basic materials that humans are," she answered, watching outside. "There's only one element in my body that could become hard as steel, and that's carbon. Depending on the molecular structure, it can mean the difference between diamonds and pencil lead. I just transmuted the blade into a weaker form, brittle enough that I could snap it off."

"Meaning…?" Beelzemon prompted

"I turned the hard stuff into soft stuff," Romy replied. "Okay, we need some bombs. There's a river out there, and trees beyond that. With those I could transmute a few hydrogen balloons, but I need a way to get to them…"

"Can I help?" One of the bigger, beast-like Digimon came forward, and she grinned. He looked like a mole, with powerful fore-claws and an actual _drill_ for a snout.

"Convenient," she said. "Let's see…I'll need a tunnel leading to the trees first, and someone to cut them down."

"That'd be me," Silphymon put in.

"Right," Romy nodded. "Everyone else is gonna play decoy. Shoot at them from here, and keep them occupied. Okay…let's go."

With a clap, she'd created a few more small windows, and while the others began firing Drimogemon dived into the floor and tunneled his way towards the river, making sure to give it a wide berth, with Romy and Silphymon following in the rear.

"I can give you some cover while you work," Wizardmon said, coming up next to Romy. "There's a spell that will let you go unnoticed for at least five minutes, but no longer."

"That should be plenty of time," she smiled.

"So, tell me more abut this magic of yours," he said eagerly. "I've never heard of a human that could do anything like it."

"We call it alchemy, and it isn't magic, it's science," Romy explained. "It's basically knowing the composition of a material, then deconstructing it and reconstructing it in another form."

"So you can make anything?"

"Not anything. There are laws, such as the conservation of mass and equivalent exchange," she said. "I can't make something out of nothing, and in order to gain something I have to give something in return. Take the bombs we're going to make. Water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, or H²O. I just need to extract the hydrogen, put it into paper balloons, light the fuse and throw them at the Snimon. Since Hydrogen is highly flammable, it'll be like a great big Molotov cocktail."

It was then that they came up on the other side of the river, and while Wizardmon erected his You-Don't-See-Me spell Romy created an irrigation ditch to bring in water from the river. In a matter of seconds Silphymon had felled several trees, and Romy fashioned it all into half a dozen formidable balloons.

"How do we throw these at the Snimon?" Drimogemon asked, eyeing the bulky things uncertainly.

"Like this," Romy said, clapped, and under the first balloon a stone catapult rose up out of the ground and locked onto the swarm. Five more burst up from beneath the snow, Wizardmon lit the fuses, and Romy pulled the lever, slinging the balloons straight into the heart of their attackers. The following explosions were deafening, shaking Wizardmon to his core while dozens of Snimon went crashing to the ground in flames or in pieces.

"Second round!" Romy called, and they began the process all over. However, the Snimon knew now that something was happening, and turned to meet this new threat. But Wizardmon's spell was still in effect, and they floundered in the air while another volley of bombs rained down on their heads from out of absolutely nowhere. By the third round, though, the spell was weakening and a few of the insects dived towards them, only to be blasted into oblivion by a powerful attack from Silphymon. Their numbers greatly diminished, the Snimon decided to beat a hasty retreat, only to meet the others as they knocked their way out of Romy's cave and proceeded to demolish any insect left in the air. Within fifteen minutes it was over.

"Well…That was easy," Frigimon said, watching in interest as Romy deconstructed her catapults. "Are you sure you're…human?"

"Yup, last time I checked," Romy grinned, amused. "But…I've never heard of the Digital world before or Digimon for that matter. Are you some sort of talking chimera?"

"You're in another universe entirely, Romy," Wizardmon told her, waving as the others said their goodbyes and went back to their own lives. "But you're not from the real world like the others…"

"There are others?" she asked.

"Yeah, but don't know where they are," Meramon said.

"…I see."

"However, now that you're here they may be called back," Wizardmon said.

"Why's that?"

"Usually, if a human shows up in the Digital World it signifies that something is wrong," the wizard explained. "It's happened a few times before, and when it has, several DigiDestined have been pulled through the gate to help put everything right."

"Mm-hmmm…" Romy hummed in that particular way that said she knew where he was going and she didn't like it one bit. "DigiDestined?"

"Chosen children," Beelzemon explained shortly, giving her a toothy grin and a wink. "Humans that appear in the Digital World have some purpose or other. Obviously, you got something to do here."'

"Obviously," Romy deadpanned.

"Catch on quick, don'tcha?"

"Yeah, I don't care," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Sorry, but I have my own problems."

"But…wait, you helped us with the Snimon," Drimogemon protested, confused. "I thought—"

"No, I helped myself," Romy clarified. "I was in as much trouble as you were. And now that the trouble's over, I'll be on my way."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to leave this world until you've done whatever you were brought here to do," Wizardmon said levelly.

"Who's to say I'm one of these destined people?" she demanded, rounding on him. "Where's your proof?"

"Well, normally a Digi-Vice would appear…" he said, faltering. "But…"

"Obviously I don't have one," Romy finished smugly. "Nice try, but no. Find some other sap to recruit. It was nice meeting you."

"Wait," he said as she turned to leave. "Digi-Vice or not, you _are _here for a reason."

"NO."

"But it's your responsibility—"

"It's not my responsibility to do _anything_!" she burst out angrily. "I don't owe you, and I've already got enough on my plate as it is! If something happens, take care of it yourself. Stand on your own two feet. It's pathetic if you have to rely on some girl you don't even know to take care of all your problems."

"I didn't say that!" the wizard flared in a rare show of anger. "If anything happens, I am more than proficient enough to handle it!"

"Then what are you arguing with _me_ for, shorty?" the girl bit back. Instantly, the wizard's gaze went black.

"_WHAT_—"

"ENOUGH!" Frigimon shouted, putting himself between them and cutting short Wizardmon's explosion. Apparently, Romy had hit a nerve. "Fighting won't get us anywhere. And…I think she has a point. Whatever will happen will be our problem, it isn't fair to ask her to deal with it. It _isn't_ right getting a kid involved; we ought to handle whatever will happen ourselves."

"Thank you," Romy said graciously, smirking while Wizardmon smoldered furiously. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going now."

"As I've already said, you won't be able to leave this world until you've completed what you were sent to do," Wizardmon repeated curtly, trying to get himself under control. It was not often that he lost his temper, but then again, it was not often someone made a comment about his stature. It was just his luck she'd managed to hit upon the one thing that could set him off.

"Auuugh! I don't have _time_ for this crap," she exclaimed in frustration, leaning her back against the nearest tree. "There's something _important_ I have to do. I need to get home NOW."

"Well, the only one I know that _might _be able to do that is Gennai," Wizardmon said, reluctantly. "But he's a long ways from here."

"Great. I'll go see him then."

"You'll need a partner."

"Excuse me?"

"A Digimon partner, for protection—"

"I'll pass," Romy grinned. "I'm a State Alchemist. Where I come from that means I'm part of the military. I can take care of myself—as you saw earlier."

"A guide then," he went on. "The Digital World is vast, you could easily get lost."

Romy let out a long-suffering sigh. "…Fine," she conceded grudgingly. "What about one of you?"

"No!" they all cried at once, backing off quick.

"Not just anyone will do," Wizardmon explained while Romy was torn on whether to be amused or indignant by their reaction. "All Digimon partners are pre-chosen."

"More destiny crap…" she muttered. "Alright, where would I find mine?"

"Primary Village," Wizardmon replied promptly. "If your partner hasn't shown up by now, then most likely it's there."

"Okay, then. Who's the happy volunteer that'll take me there?" she asked sweetly.

"…We'll draw straws."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I wish had a Digimon…or ruled the Digital World. Sadly, I do not.**

Vocabulary (in case you missed it the last time):

**Delphimon—**A Digimon I just made up solely for the purpose of having a prophecy. Basically, she pretty much gets high and says stuff about the future. Cool beans.

* * *

Ha-ha! Angry and indignant Wizardmon! It's not often you see that, now is it? Though, seriously, I think being called short would set him off. I mean, he has to be the tiniest champion Digimon I've ever seen besides Gatomon and she's a cat. Just look at how huge his hat is. He's totally compensating. 

So, yes, the fourth chapter of _Clockwork_ and already I have five reviews! FIVE! Yeah, so other people have four hundred and sixty-three or some ridiculous number like that. But who cares? I have five reviews! Ha! Not that you should stop writing to me…

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. This chapter was so fun. It made me happy. Also, about the hydrogen bomb things—probably wouldn't work in real life. I got the idea from _Titan:AE_. Good movie. Watch it sometime. The carbon thing I got from FMA. Good anime. Watch it sometime.

That's it for now,

Calfuray


	5. Checkmate

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter Five: Checkmate**

* * *

"So, where do you think we should start looking first?" Davis asked, shading his eyes as he glanced up at the noon-day sun. It was a nice day, not too warm or cold, and he was glad to be outside. The Digital World seemed to be in a particularly good mood, as if welcoming them back with the brightest array of colors and lights it could muster. All of this seemed lost on Veemon, however, as he was currently nosing through Davis's bag in search of something to eat. This was regardless of the fact that they'd just eaten not an hour before.

"Maybe we should start asking around," Sora suggested. "I'm sure the local Digimon might have seen someone or noticed if anything strange were going on."

"Right, and I think we should split up; we'll cover more ground that way," Tai said.

"Good idea," Davis said enthusiastically, moving to stand next to Kari. "How about we team up with whoever's on our right?"

"Great. Me, Joe and Sora'll take the Western region; Izzy, Matt, and Mimi will go South; Ken, T.K. and Kari can search up North; and Davis, Yolei, and Cody will check the East," Tai said, divvying them all up quickly. "Is that alright?"

They all nodded affirmatively while Davis stood with his mouth hanging open in surprise and not a little disappointment, not having realized that while Kari was on his right, he'd been on Yolei's.

"Hold on, I think Joe and I should switch teams," Matt cut in quickly, careful not to cast a glance Sora's way. "Gomamon works best in water, so he ought to be near the Southern beach, right?"

Tai pretended to consider, inwardly fuming. But Matt had a point, and he didn't see a way to argue against it without sounding ridiculous. Damn. He'd been hoping to get Sora away from the musician and have her for himself awhile.

"Yeah, that's alright," he agreed—grudgingly—his manner casual, as if he didn't care one way or another; though he didn't miss the gleam of triumph in Matt's eyes.

"You know, I think I ought to go North with Ken and Kari," Davis interjected desperately. "'Cause, you know…Veemon breathes fire, and could…uh…melt the ice…"

"Davis, I'm cold-blooded!" Veemon objected.

"Nice try, but no," T.K. smirked, knowing exactly what the goggle-head was after. Davis scowled and stuck his hands in his pockets, defeated. "So, are we all decided, then?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, let's go!"

The DigiDestined turned in their respective directions, Digimon Digivolved, and they were on their way across the plain. Matt glanced up towards Sora, nestled comfortably in one of Birdramon's talons, and smiled to himself. Catching Tai's eye, that smile turned to a grin, one their unnofficial leader returned with just as much challenge in his eyes. This was going to be fun.

.xXx.

"_Look, mommy, look what I made!" little Rosemerry cried triumphantly, showing her mother the miniature steel rocking horse she'd transmuted. Bethany Elric looked up from the laundry and stared in surprise at the figure in her seven-year-old's hands, and then at the large grin on Romy's face. _

"_You made this?" she asked. _

"_I made one, too, see?" Walter, Romy's twin brother, said excitedly. "Mine's a dog."_

_Bethany bent down to examine her children's creations, noting that even though they were a bit rough around the edges, they were still quite an achievement for the two at such a young age. "I think they're both wonderful!" she said with conviction, earning a happy smile from the twins. "But where did you learn to do alchemy? Did your father teach you?"_

_Romy made a face and shook her head. "How can he, when he's never home?"_

"_Rosemerry, you know he has work."_

"_Well, he didn't teach us, we learned on our own!" Romy went on, and beamed proudly. _

"_I see," Bethany said, hiding a grin. "So you snuck into his study without permission again. I wondered what that huge mess was the other day…"_

"_Did we do something bad?" Walter asked anxiously._

"_No, of course I'm not!" Bethany cried, laughing. "I'm very proud of you two. I'm going to brag to everyone I know about this."_

_Romy and Walter shot each other overjoyed looks and cheered, hugging Bethany around the waist. And that was all it took—just a few words of their mother's praise—for the twins to dive headfirst into the science that was alchemy. _

"_Go on, scoot now! I have the laundry to finish and supper to put on the table!" Bethany said, still chuckling as she shooed them away. _

"_Come on, Wally, let's go show Valery!" Romy said brightly. Walter nodded in agreement and they scampered off down the old country road towards their friend's house. Bethany shook her head in amazement and watched them for a moment before sweeping her gaze out over the gorgeous green landscape that was Resembool. Then she turned back to the laundry, thinking she would finish and get dinner ready in time for her husband to come home. _

.xXx.

"I can't believe this," Romy groused, scowling in frustrated annoyance. "Why did _you_ have to pick the short straw?"

"Believe me I didn't do it on purpose…" Wizardmon retorted, albeit a little crossly. "The least you could do is make the best of it and stop complaining."

"I wouldn't have so much to complain about if you weren't such a fatalistic stick-in-the-mud…" she muttered, kicking ill-temperedly at a loose rock in her path and sending it skittering off down the road. After Wizardmon's shoulder was bandaged, they'd immediately set off for Primary Village, though as of yet neither was too happy about it.

"I am _not_ fatalistic," the wizard defended. "I just happen to know a lot more about these things than you do. It doesn't matter what you say, you're a DigiDestined whether you like it or not and as such you have a duty to fulfill."

"Why are you still harping on about that?" Romy sighed. "My answer is still no, and you won't make me change it. So drop it already. I just want to get to Gennai's and go home."

"What if he can't send you back?" Wizardmon asked. "What will you do then? You'll have been wasting your time, and by then it could be too late."

"I'll think about that when I get there, if it happens at all," she said firmly. "So…what's in Primary Village?"

He knew she was changing the subject, but decided to let it slide. He wasn't quite ready to give it up, but he was patient and could wait for as long as it took to bring her around.

"Hopefully, your partner," he said. It was a perfectly civil answer, but Romy caught his meaning: _My chance to dump you on someone else, thank god._

"You've already said that. What else?" Which meant: _Quit repeating yourself, you annoying little prick. _

"It's where all Digimon start out, as babies. There's their guardian, as well, but you shouldn't have much trouble with him." Translation: _You act like such a spoiled brat already so he'll probably mistake you for one of his own._

"You on good terms with him?" she asked, but what she really said was: _Like you?_

"I don't pass that way often, but he knows me well enough," Wizardmon replied. "He's very protective, though, so I suggest you be on your best behavior."

The meaning of this was so obvious subtitles would have been redundant. Even if it wasn't, the subtle under current of disdain in his voice was enough to tip her off on the insult to her maturity. Romy looked skyward, repressing the urge to smack him. "Don't worry about me, as long as he's a reasonable gent I'll get along with him just fine." This could roughly be interpreted as: _You are anything _but_ reasonable, which is probably why I don't like you. On top of that you're an arrogant, single-minded, overly righteous, scruffy, fatalistic git and I can't wait to get rid of you._

_Who's scruffy?_ Wizardmon thought indignantly, running a self-conscious hand over his attire. So he wasn't the most glamorous Digimon out there. So what? He liked to think he didn't care about appearances—that wasn't exactly what wizards were about, after all…but still. She didn't have to be mean about it.

"I'm sure you will," he replied flatly, and she smirked. This time it was he who changed the subject. "So, tell me, what is it that you have to do?"

"Pardon?"

"You said you had something important to do back where you come from," he clarified. "What was it?"

Abruptly, he felt her mood shift. She had been a little vexed with him before, but he'd sensed that in some way she had enjoyed their verbal sparring. But suddenly something was wrong and her mind closed off before he could figure out what it was.

"More important than this," she answered bitingly.

"Hey, this is _my world_ you're talking about," he bristled, a little more forcefully than he'd intended, and moved to block her path. "I don't know what it is that's so important to you, but this is important, too. My _home_ is in danger, as are all those that live here, many of which are friends I could lose. If you don't want to fight for it, fine, but don't you _dare_ pass it off as nothing!"

"If you're so worried about your precious Digital World, then what are you doing hanging around here?" she retorted, scathing. "If you want to protect it so much, go do it yourself."

"The only reason I'm not long gone is because I'm helping _you_!"

"Hey, don't do me any favors. Besides, it's not like I'm twisting your arm," Romy sneered. "If you want to go, then by all means, get lost. It'll be the greatest help yet."

"How can you be such an insufferable brat?" he demanded

"How can _you_ be such a pompous runt?" she hurled back.

"That's it!" the wizard barked. "That's _it_. I've had enough. You want to get to Primary Village you can find it on your own. Good _luck_."

And with that he whirled away and flew off, leaving Romy standing alone on the road.

"Good riddance!" she shouted after him before turning on her heel and marching off in the opposite direction.

Unnoticed by either of them was the couple perched in the canopy of a nearby tree, watching silently. These two were brothers, and Roachmon, which could only mean they were nasty pieces of work.

"Come on, let's go tell the boss," the first muttered, his antennae twitching as he shot a look at his brother, who nodded. With a buzz of wings, they took to the sky and were gone. Getting that strange feeling of being watched, Romy scowled in the direction they'd flown, but when she didn't see anything she dismissed it and continued on.

.xXx.

"**She is alone?**"

"Yes, boss," the older Roach brother replied, keeping his head down. "She and Wizardmon separated, and the girl went on for Primary Village alone."

"**So she survived…**"

"Sir?"

"**Bring me KnightChessmon**," the Black Beast ordered, shaking his great head. "**Perhaps they will be of more use.**"

"Yes, sir," Roachmon said as he backed out of the chamber, and hurried off to find the requested Digimon waiting for him outside. The Knight nodded silently as he approached and cantered inside before he could say anything. Roachmon watched him disappear into the gloom, then shook himself and buzzed off, glad to be away.

In the cavern, the chess D'mon waited in the dark for his master to show himself. Naturally, he was modeled after the knights in a chessboard, though he more resembled a centaur than anything else. Completely black in color, he sported an immense lance and wore chivalry like a cape.

"**You know of the Prophecy concerning the child**," the Beast said.

"Yes, sir," he answered.

"**Then you know what must be done.**"

"Yes, sir."

"**Good. Take her out. Use any means necessary.**"

"As you wish."

.xXx.

Rosemerry trudged along the road, hands shoved in her pockets, kicking at anything that appeared in her path: rocks, sticks, empty soda cans, clumps of dirt…

"Back up," she said, stopping in her tracks and snapping her head around to stare at the can she'd just stomped on, then up at the vending machine sitting out in the middle of nowhere by the side of a deserted road.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder," she muttered, walking up to the thing and eyeing the beverages inside with a greedy eye. Come to think of it, she was rather thirsty, and when was the last time she'd had a decent meal? The problem was she didn't have any money. Surreptitiously, she looked around. Well, there was no one to be seen, and the machine didn't _look_ like it belonged to anyone. It was by the road, after all, so there was a good possibility it had been dumped by someone. So nobody would mind if she took a drink, right? Right.

Grinning, Romy clapped her hands and opened a hole in the machine big enough to reach in and grab something cold. Another clap and the hole disappeared completely. There, no one would ever even notice.

"You shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you," said a cold voice directly behind her.

So much for going unnoticed. Turning casually, Romy found herself faced with a strange sight. She had always liked fairy tales, so she knew a centaur when she saw one, but this one was decidedly _not_ flesh and blood. It was crafted from some sort of steel, all black, and carrying the biggest lance she'd ever laid eyes on.

"Come on, you wouldn't refuse a girl dying of dehydration a drink, would you?" she said reasonably, popping the top and taking a swig, just to be impertinent.

"You should pay for it."

"Sorry, but I'm broke."

"Not yet, you aren't," the centaur replied, and without warning he charged forward, lance directed straight for Romy's chest. She ducked and rolled away, just as the lance punched through the vending machine and out the other side. Setting his fore-hoof against it, he wrenched his weapon out and turned to face her.

"Too slow!" she jeered, clapping her hands and pressing them to the ground. Hands shot up out of the earth and made a grab for the centaur's legs, but he reared and leapt away, swinging the lance. She jumped straight up in the air, the spear passing just under her toes as she swung her foot into the Digimon's face. He yelped and staggered back a little, more surprised than hurt.

They squared off again, sizing each other up, ready move at the slightest provocation.

"You're good, I'll give you that," the Digimon acknowledged. "There's never been a _human_ that could stand up to me. Not without help."

"You attack little girls without reason often, do you?" she shot back.

"No, there is a reason," he replied, charging her again. She flipped back, clapping in midair and landing on her hands. A wall erupted out of the ground and the centaur crashed into it, hard, unable to stop himself in time.

"Mind filling me in?" Romy asked, perching herself up on the barrier she'd transmuted and grinning down at him. The Digimon stabbed at her, the point whooshing past her ear as she dodged out of the way. Another clap and she grabbed the weapon, splitting it right down the middle as her alchemy traveled along the length of it like red lightning. He dropped it quickly and whipped around, his hind feet swinging out like pistons to smash into Romy's wall like twin titanium battering rams. Romy gasped as her barricade was kicked out from under her feet, and then abruptly something shoved her to the ground so hard her lungs nearly collapsed they'd been emptied so fast.

"There is a prophecy foretelling a great war to come."

"Yeah, so?" she coughed, glaring up at the Digimon pinning her.

"You are involved."

"You believe all that?" she snorted. "What is it with you things and destinies?"

"The prediction was made by the oracle Delphimon," the centaur replied stoically. "They are never wrong."

"The way I hear it, prophecies are pretty tricky things," Romy said. "They tend to get misinterpreted. You sure you got the right person?"

The centaur faltered a moment, thinking that over. He'd never considered it before, and supposed it might be possible. But suddenly something shot up out of the ground and slammed into his stomach, throwing him down before he could react. Gasping, he tried to stagger to his feet, when the iron cage surged up and shut him in from all sides.

"How…?" he asked, staring at the blunt lance jutting from the ground in astonishment. "Your hands…you didn't clap."

"I don't always need to clap to transmute something," Romy grinned, and he noticed the little diagram she'd drawn into the dirt while he'd been distracted. "It's called a transmutation circle. Now that I've won, how about you tell me who sent you?"

"You fight well, little one," the centaur said, sounding genuinely impressed. "But I cannot tell you that."

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter," she growled threateningly, and touched the bars of his make-shift prison. At once the entire cage began shrinking all around him, pressing in hard. "Now tell me."

"I would, lass," he replied, forced to duck his head and crouch uncomfortably. "But you haven't won, yet."

Romy stared at him wordlessly, her smile fading as she realized what he meant. She'd just whirled around and barely managed to keep from being impaled; instead the lance caught her at a glancing blow and ripped through her side before hurling her sideways into a tree. Hard. She collapsed instantly and crumpled to the ground in shock as the second centaur tore her cage apart, freeing his partner.

"Sorry, but we KnightChessmon travel in herds," he informed her. Dazedly, she lifted her head and saw that this one, besides being white, looked exactly like the first.

"I'll remember that next time," she panted, bleeding heavily and supporting her weight against the tree as she shakily tried to get up, only to—literally—come face to face with the business end of the centaur's lance.

"There won't be a next time," he said, pulling back and leveling the weapon at her chest. "But I will allow you a moment to pray before you die."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: Digimon and all concepts relating to Fullmetal Alchemist belong to their respective creators. **

Hooray, chapter five is finally done! And it's a cliffhanger! Woot! It was really long, though, wasn't it? A lot of stuff happened. But I hope you enjoyed it, and that I kept in character. A pissed off Wizardmon's hard to pull off—it's difficult to picture him upset, and there isn't much of anything I can reference since I don't remember him ever really getting angry in the anime. Sure, he was righteously angry at the vampire-dude (that guy has too many damn names: Myotismon, Malomyotismon, Venommyotismon. I wish he'd just make up his mind, already) but that isn't the same thing. Ah well.

Sorry there wasn't more of Tai and the others. But they'll get more active roles soon, I promise, once they meet up with Romy. And you can be sure everything will hit the fan when they do. Also, more on Romy's past will be coming up, too.

Keep sending me your lovely reviews! They make the world go 'round, you know.

Signing off,

Calfuray


	6. Digimon Don't Bleed

**Digimon: Digital Monsters**

**The Clockwork Alchemist**

**Chapter Six: Digimon Don't Bleed**

* * *

Rosemerry had never been a very religious person. Being an alchemist, she put her faith into science rather than any sort of philosophy, and tended to perceive the world and everything in it as a scientist would. However, that was not to say that she didn't believe there to be a higher being than herself. She knew for a fact that there was, but she also knew that it would do her no good to pray to it. _That _thing wouldn't have listened.

"Sorry, but I can't die yet," she told KnightChessmon the centaur. "There's something important I have to do. I can't go yet. Besides…I think God hates me, so I'd probably just get sent back."

"All the more reason you will burn in the fires of hell, then," he replied coldly and hurled the lance into her chest. She didn't even have time to move away, if she could have. Abruptly her feet left the ground and she was slammed back into the tree, her vision bursting with light as she cracked her head.

It felt like her ribcage had collapsed.

_No…_

It was impossible to breathe.

_I don't want to die…_

Every heartbeat hurt.

_There's something…I have to do…_

"…May you rest in peace, child," she heard the centaur murmur, but already everything was out of focus and disconnected, as if it no longer had anything to do with her. A blackness was filling her up, creeping at the edges of her vision and slowly moving inwards. Suddenly, her body felt numb and heavy, and it was hard to keep her head up. Then as all the world became fog Romy closed her eyes and died.

"THUNDER BLASTER!"

There was a crack and the centaur roared as lightning struck him from out of nowhere, launching him backwards into his companion. And there Wizardmon stood, his staff held out before him like a sword, breathing hard. For a moment a small eternity, all he could do was stare in horror at Romy's body, unable to think or move or believe what he was seeing.

"Romy…?" he called, hoping she would look up. But she was so terribly motionless…

_Oh god…_

"_Romy_…!" he cried, his voice breaking as he broke into a stumbling run, but he couldn't get any closer than a few feet. Suddenly, nothing else in the world mattered now. A child had died, and he couldn't do anything but call her name over and over, as if somehow she would wake up and be okay. Reaching out, he found he couldn't even touch her. It felt so wrong to touch her.

_I'm sorry._

Instead he laid his hand on the tree, but flinched away when he felt something warm. Blankly, he glanced down at the red stain on his glove and then up at the stream of blood on the bark. There was more at the corner of her mouth, and the sight of it made his skin crawl. Dully, he realized he had never seen blood before. Digimon didn't bleed.

_I'm sorry…_ he wanted to say as he sank to his knees. _I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened…wouldn't have happened if I had been here to protect you. _

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he hardly noticed. In a daze he glanced back at the two Digimon standing behind him, and for a moment he just stared.

"..._Why_?"

"I am sorry," the Knight said quietly. "It is for the best."

Before he knew what he was he doing, Wizardmon whirled and struck out hard with every ounce of magic he had, hurling the two Digimon back at least ten feet before they hit the ground—hard—and skidded to a bone-crunching stop.

"SHE WAS A CHILD!" he roared, voice hoarse with unfamiliar emotion as an unseen power swirled around him, pounding in his ears and turning his vision red. "She was a _child_, what had she _ever_ done to deserve death?!"

"We—" KnightChessmon began, but he was cut off as another soundless blast rocked the earth, and something dark engulfed the wizard and the word began to howl.

"**Vision of Terror,**" he snarled, his eyes growing cold and hard with savagery, and the mists rolled in. The White Knight pulled away, his heart seizing at the awful look in Wizardmon's eyes, not noticing as his companion slowly raised his lance.

"What…?" White began, and bellowed as something smashed into the back of his head. Pain exploded behind his eyes and he fell briefly to his knees. Staggering up he turned to face whatever had hit him, and found no one but the Black Knight.

"What are you doing?!" The White Knight cried, but Black ignored him and charged. White barely had time to dodge out of the way, Black's lance ripping into his side and he passed. "Black, stop it!"

But Black didn't stop and continued to push forward, driving White into a corner. It was all he could do to keep the Black Knight away, parrying blow for blow. Then suddenly his foot caught something and he stumbled, loosing his balance for a split-second. It was all the time Black needed and he thrust his lance through White's stomach. White gaped at Black in shock before he slowly toppled to the ground, his body hazing as it teetered between this world and the next. Black stood above him for a moment, his eyes glazed and empty and staring at nothing. Then, abruptly he shook himself and looked around, confused.

"Wh-what…?"

Then he spotted White and froze in horror, his lance still protruding from the Knight's torso. He staggered back, mouth opening and closing soundlessly, breathing faster and faster as something cold gripped his heart and wouldn't let go.

"No…_no…_I didn't mean …"

"Bla…ck…" White gasped, reaching out for his companion. Black moved quickly to take his brother's hand, but the centaur fell back with a sigh, the light fading from his eyes as he died.

"_NO…!_" Black cried, frantically trying to keep White with him even as his brother's body slowly blew away with the wind. Even when there was nothing left Black still called his name, his hands pressed to the spot where White had lain, rocking back and forth and sobbing into the dirt. His lance was still standing upright, its point buried in the ground and Black stared at it for a long time before he slowly grasped its hilt and held it aloft.

"Brother…I'm coming," he murmured. It was as if a thick fog had settled over his mind, and he moved almost in a daze as he set the lance in the ground, point up. "I'm coming…"

Then he reared up and fell forward, feeling the weapon punch through his ribcage and snap his spine—

"That's enough, Wizardmon!"

White's eyes snapped open and he jerked upright, breathing hard and looking around in disoriented confusion. Next to him, Black was doing the same, and they locked eyes. Both were shaking uncontrollably, even as they realized it had all been a dream…yet they could almost feel the holes in their bodies and the grip of death on their hearts…

Wizardmon paid them no heed. In fact, it seemed he had forgotten all about them. At the sound of his name his concentration broke, and he turned, unable to believe his own eyes. Now he stood rigid, holding his breath, and fearing that somehow he was trapped in a dream of his own.

Incredibly, Romy's eyes were open, and for the first time he noticed they were golden. There was a still a haze about them, but she was awake now and definitely—miraculously—alive, blinking and shaking her head in an attempt to clear the last of the murk from her vision. Wizardmon's knees suddenly wanted to buckle on him, and he swayed on his feet as a wave of shock and relief hit his heart.

"Romy…?" he asked, taking a hesitant step forward, not quite sure if it was really her.

"Yeah…" she replied, grimacing. "That was _close_."

No. It was impossible.

"H-How…?" He stared at the lance in her chest, still pinning her to the tree, and a cold feeling settled in his stomach. Abruptly, his head felt light and he stepped away, unable to tear his eyes away. "You…you shouldn't…"

This was _impossible._ She shouldn't be alive.

"Hey," she said, a note of alarm in her voice as he sank to the ground. "Wizardmon—hey!" Then she wrenched the lance out and hurried to his side. "Wizardmon—look at me—I'm fine. I'm fine, see? I think I just passed out…"

"No," he said, sharply. "No. You _died_. I saw it. The lance—"

"The lance barely touched me," Romy said, cutting him off. "I transmuted it at the last second—it went around me, not through. I just blacked out for a little bit, that's all. Are you okay?"

Wizardmon blinked at her in uncomprehending amazement before he numbly stared past her. KnightChessmon's lance had split at the end, and now resembled something like a pitchfork, having punctured the tree on either side of her. "But…but the blood…" he protested, looking back at her.

"Well, I _did_ say it was close," she grimaced, and he saw her side was bleeding. "He got me a little earlier, but I don't think it's serious…"

A new wave of relief washed over the wizard, and he thought he might collapse if he wasn't already sitting down.

"Are you okay now?" she asked softly, putting a concerned hand on his shoulder and smiling reassuringly.

"Yes. Yes, I'm alright," he replied, nodding as he regained his composure, and tried to return the smile from behind his cloak, albeit a little shakily. She gave his shoulder a squeeze and stood, reaching out to help him up.

"So, what shall we do with these two?" she asked, pulling him to his feet as she eyed the KnightChessmon.

"I should like to know who sent them," Wizardmon said.

"We…we're not telling you anything!" Black snapped, struggling to get up, but Romy suddenly clapped and laid both hands on the ground. Abruptly, two giant hands reached up and pinned the Digimon down.

"You're going to tell me everything I want to know," she said, bringing herself up to her full height and folded her arms, her cold eyes leveled and dangerous. "Or you will die."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer: Dammit, I want a Digimon!**

Finally, chapter six is finished! It took me a while to finish it cause of my other two stories…andasmallbitofwriter'sblock…but here it is! Hooray! **throws streamers and runs around gaily **Poor Wizardmon, he has to go through so much…especially in this story. Hehehe. haha. Mwahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!

Sorry. Evil Overlord moment. Honestly, though, I've been really mean to him. But hey, he's a good person, and as a rule all good people must suffer. It's in the Author's Book of Rules. I swear! Go look it up if you don't believe me.

ANYWAY. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed the chappie!

Until I want to write again,

Calfuray

But he had already caught it, that awful feeling he'd somehow missed earlier. He realized her heart had been broken and clumsily put back together more than once. There was a mess of guilt, and regret, and fury…and a sadness that ran too deep for words.

"Alright," he murmured gently. "It's okay, you don't have to say."


End file.
